Director: John Erick Dowdle
Released: August 2014
Run Time: 93 Minutes
Rated R
Cast:
Perdita Weeks: Scarlett
Ben Feldman: George
Edwin Hodge: Benji
Francois Civil: Papillon
For some, the found-footage genre is a boon, rich with movies that allow people to get immersed in what’s happening on screen. For others, it’s a headache-inducing genre. Some people complain that with these movies it’s hard to see what’s going on because the camera’s shaking so much. To be honest, most found-footage movies are crap. The Paranormal Activity movies are some prime examples of excess. You can only do a movie like that so many times before it becomes repetitive and predictable. That’s not to say that all movies using the whole found-footage motif are bad. Not at all. Movies like Cloverfield, Chronicle, and Into The Storm are just some examples of how to get it right without giving people a major headache. The genre that the found-footage technique is most associated with is horror. Starting with Cannibal Holocaust, the technique allows its audience to experience a film from a first-person perspective. The most famous movie using this technique is actually The Blair Witch Project.
As Above, So Below begins as Scarlett is in Iran looking for clues that will help her locate the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. After finding a particular clue before the site is destroyed, Scarlett makes her way to Paris, France to find someone who can translate her find. Her old flame, George reluctantly agrees to translate, and they discover that the Philosopher’s Stone may actually be hidden in the catacombs beneath Paris. After finding a local team that knows the catacombs, they begin their search. After discovering a hidden passage, they begin to see…things from their past. It seems they may have inadvertently stumbled upon a circle of hell that torments them. It’s kind of difficult to discern what kind of movie that As Above, So Below wants to be. For a while, it seems like a kind of Indiana Jones-style of adventure, but later it turns into a bit of a horror movie. This is a movie with a few interesting ideas that don’t really gel into anything substantial or coherent. What I will say is that is a brilliant idea setting the whole movie in the Paris catacombs. From what I hear, the necropolis is extremely creepy. It should be: 6 million dead bodies buried in 200 miles-worth of tunnels beneath Paris. That is absolutely perfect for a horror flick. So, what went wrong?
For one, the characters are annoying. The lead character, Scarlett is an irritating busy-body whose obsession with the Philosopher’s Stone ends up leading to disaster. Her ex-boyfriend constantly refuses to go with them but ends up following anyway. The lead catacombs guy, Papillon, is greedy and agrees only on the condition that he and his crew get half of the treasure that they were told is in the catacombs. These guys are all card-board cutouts. They’re irritating and mostly expendable, so it’s hard for people to really care when they get bumped off. There’s a couple of interesting deaths, but this isn’t exactly what I would call a super hard-R film. It’s not even all that gory, although you do get to see someone’s head get bashed in. The movie really takes a turn for the worse in the third act of the film. It’s pure chaos and because of the found-footage technique, it’s really hard to see what’s going on. You can’t get scared if you can’t see what’s happening. This is one of the main reasons why I generally don’t like found-footage movies. It gets really hard to see what’s going on, and by the time you DO figure out what’s happened, the movie’s over.
That’s not to say it’s all bad in As Above, So Below. It’s very atmospheric. As I said before, the decision to have the film take place in the Parisian catacombs is nothing short of brilliant. It’s claustrophobic and very, very creepy. The sound effects and the music are second-to-none. It really gives the film a palpable sense of dread. At least it would if the characters actually amounted to anything. There are also issues with the story, like why Scarlett is such a believer in alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone. The fact that they end up in Hell is really bizarre. Apparently, Hell exists 741 feet below the surface of the earth. The film certainly has some interesting visuals and atmosphere, but there’s nothing here that we haven’t seen a million times before, and it’s hard to see anything when the camera’s swinging all over the place. This isn’t a terrible movie, but it just doesn’t really cut it, not with superior films out there. It’s an interesting concept with a very unique setting which helps elevate the film above the rest. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t come together as well as I hoped that it would. At the end of the day, As Above, So Below is simply…mediocre. 6/10. It’s worth a rental at least, but nothing more.